Learning Brisket and have questions

wrx_02

I'm new here and BBQ is not my thing. I love it but my father always struggled with it and the only good BBQ we had was when we went out for it. 

So I am determined to get this correct and feel I have gotten to a point where it is coming together. I just need clarification on some things. I know everyone cooks brisket differently and they have their own opinions so I was to know why do you do it that way? 

1. I have seen that some people cut the flat and the point apart when cooking. 

I would prefer to keep them together, so how do I get them to finish at the same time without drying out the flat? 

2. Some people foil wrap, some do not. I want to keep it tender, but I do not want it to fall apart. I also want to keep a nice bark. 

3. Tender Quick, injection??

4. How to let it rest? If I wrap it and place it in a cooler I lose the bark? If I just let it sit out does it dry out? 

Also would the Meat Temp while pulling off the Egg change if I was going to place it in a cooler? 

I have been reading a lot of info here and trying a lot of things. The last one I cooked turned out pretty good. I'd say better than a lot of BBQ places around me but not like the high end stuff. It lacked a smoke ring but was smokey in flavor, almost to smokey. 

SGH

You have asked a compound question that requires an in depth answer. I am busy at the moment but I will take a shot at answering some of your questions tonight if no one else answers them for you.
Again welcome aboard.

wrx_02

Thanks, I know there are a lot of different ways of doing a brisket so it makes things fairly complex. 

Any answer is better than none, just trying to get one thing at a time figured out. 

bud812

Welcome to the zoo. I don't make brisket so I am of no help there.

SGH

@wrx_02‌
There are some excellent brisket cooks on this forum if you will call out to them by name.
Hint- nola___he_d
D_W
That's just two of many. If you read between the lines you should have no trouble figuring out who they are. They are honestly better qualified to answer your questions.

wpendlegg

I'm interested in seeing the responses because I want to know these things too. I never thought about the flat/point thing.

nolaegghead

I cook the flat, check the thickest part for doneness.  The point is just along for the ride - it cooks fast and has so much fast it doesn't overcook easily.   People think the flat is over cooked when it's undercooked. 

Cazzy puts the flat in the hot side of the egg when he cooks them.  I usually have it sideways, and I'll pivot it 180 half way through.  I've only cooked about 15 briskets, CT and cazzy have much more experience than me.

lousubcap

I have hosed up my share of briskets and I will start by saying there are many ways to cook them.  You can try googling brisket cook and big green egg and will get more hits than you can digest.  Here are two eggcellent links to look over:

http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html 

http://amazingribs.com/recipes/beef/texas_brisket.html

And my input to a couple of your ??'s;

#1.  The point has quite a higher fat content than the flat so it will cook more quickly but the fat content saves it.  As you approach the finish-line (determined by probing the thickest part of the flat (whether cooking just the flat or a whole packer) and getting about zero resistance in either direction) the point temperature will likely be 5-15*F hotter than the flat-no problem.  Cook the whole packer-and personal choice, don't go down the burnt ends road-slice and eat the point-best part. 

#2.  I only foil at the end of the cook-not during as I have not found a need and it does soften the bark. 

#3. No tender quick or injection although others do use it.  I try and keep it simple.

#4.  If you need to hold it then it needs to be FTC'd (Foil, Towels and Cooler).  It won;'t dry out sitting out as it should breathe before slicing.  But one you start to slice be ready to eat as it dries out quickly.  Meat temp is only a guide to the above mentioned determining when it is finished criteria.  Most start probe checking in the mid-high 180s and sometimes it's not finished til the low 200's.

 

Key to success regardless of processes used is to buy at least a choice or above grade brisket.  I can find CAB around here and the occasional prime.  Makes for a much better end product.  Also check out the Aaron Franklin brisket video series-some eggcellent info.

Remember-many roads will get you there.  Pick one-and learn from it for the next go-round! 

 

 

nolaegghead

#1 best advice I got was buy good meat.

Also, I've not done this but I hear people are getting good results injecting butter and beef broth when after it's mostly cooked.  The muscle fibers have separated and the liquid flows throughout the meat much more evenly.

Don't foil brisket unless it's very lean.

FTC is a method to keep it warm for a long time.  If you're eating in an hour after you pull it off, you want that meat to cool down or what little moisture is left will evaporate as you cut it.  Cut as you serve, don't cut it and let it sit. 

I'd say an ideal temp to serve would be 120-130F.

nolaegghead

damn @lousubcap we essentially said the same thing.

lousubcap

@nolaegghead-posts passing in the ether...and I'm not sure he will gain  much from either

nolaegghead

Let me add - I've screwed the pooch on my share of brisket.  You can cook two different briskets the same way and one may be your opus magnum, the other a complete and utter disappointing failure.

Anymore, I chalk that up to a crappy cow unless I know I screwed up (example - getting too drunk and letting the temp run away).

cazzy

nolaegghead said:

I cook the flat, check the thickest part for doneness.  The point is just along for the ride - it cooks fast and has so much fast it doesn't overcook easily.   People think the flat is over cooked when it's undercooked. 

Cazzy puts the flat in the hot side of the egg when he cooks them.  I usually have it sideways, and I'll pivot it 180 half way through.  I've only cooked about 15 briskets, CT and cazzy have much more experience than me.

My point is always near the hinge so my flat is never on the hot side.

wrx_02

If you FTC the brisket you will lose the bark correct? Also I thought the FTC will continue to "cook" the brisket in the cooler. 

I have not been injecting or using TQ but it had been suggested to me so I got some TQ I was going to try. 

Lots of rules, fat cap up or down? I believe it doesn't matter from what I have found. 

I have been just cooking the brisket til about 150 or 160 degrees, I'll wrap it to push through the stall and then unwrap it at 185 or so to build the bark back up. 

I have been following the amazingribs website. A lot of things I want to try but I need to get this down first. 

wrx_02

Oh and what is the hot side of the egg? 

nolaegghead

wrx_02 said:

Oh and what is the hot side of the egg? 

It's usually the back by the hinge

SGH

Directly opposite of your bottom vent.

lousubcap

Hot side is toward the back hinge area due to the air flow pattern of the BGE.  I'm with @cazzy-point to the hinge and I go fat side down as an additional heat deflector and if anything sticks to the grid it's the fat.  But I doubt it makes any difference.   FWIW-

wrx_02

I always lay them out side to side not from handle to hinge. Is that wrong? 

lousubcap

Nothing is wrong if it works for you...that's the challenge (and one not to be satisfied) of trying to come up with one sure fire way-eggsperiment and make singular adjustments over each cook to find what improves your approach.  YMMV-

nolaegghead

You don't lose bark if you FTC, I suppose if you piled on a ton of sugary rub it could fall off.  Mostly it gets softer.  I don't put sugar on my brisket. I have in the past but I stopped about a year ago.

wrx_02

Ok I had been FTCing and it would turn the bark soft and mushy, or I thought that is what it was. I was keeping it wrapped for longer than I currently do. I'll go back and retry.

wrx_02

I am cooking this weekend and have been searching the forum all over. 

Lots of variation from Dome Temp vs grill temp. 

I am going to calibrate my BGE dome temp gauge before I start but I have been cooking at a 225-250 dome temp, with grill on the inverter plate (with the legs facing up). Is this correct placement and temp? Looks like a lot of people build up the grills to me closer to the dome temp gauge? 

nolaegghead

Legs up is right.  If you're cooking dome temp, keep in mind your grate temp where your food is will be 20-30F cooler for the first few hours of your cook due to the the slab of meat and plate setter acting as a heat sink.  Later on they equalize.  So you can compensate for this effect by running 270-ish dome for the first few hours.  Then again, small temp differences don't really matter as much as you'd think it does except for the amount of time it takes.

wrx_02

nolaegghead Thanks for the info. I know the temp drops when I first place the meat in so I usually have it at 270 when I start cause I know the cold meat will cool down the dome temp some. Sounds like I have been doing it right. 

I got my Prime Brisket and my Tender Quick, I am going to try this out on Sunday. 

nolaegghead

Nice, let us know how it turns out and post some pictures so we know it really happened.

Cowdogs

wrx_02 said:

I got my Prime Brisket and my Tender Quick, I am going to try this out on Sunday. 

What do you plan to do with the Tender Quick?  Careful or you'll end up with corned beef.

TexanOfTheNorth

Injecting TQ will give you a better smoke ring. I'd skip that step unless you really care about a smoke ring

nolaegghead

Rubbing it on the out side will give you a smoke ring.  If you inject it, I imagine you'll get red tinted meat wherever you inject it, the color of corned beef.

R3K

I too am going to try a brisket this weekend (tomorrow) and have a few questions as well.  I've only done a few of them and have been disappointed in every damn one.  They just seem to be kinda tough and the meat tightens up within minutes of slicing.  Not sure if I'm not letting the meat rest long enough or what.  I've got a 7lb flat just begging to be properly cooked so my initial questions are

1. Approx cook time for a 7lb flat?  (was gonna cook around 275 slow/low)
2. SHOULD I foil it to get it thru the stall or just let it power thru on it's own.  I suspect this is where I'm having my issues.  I have wrapped in the past to get it thru the stall because the family was waiting to eat, and it was getting late, so I hit my target temp of 190ish and pulled it. I'm thinking that sure, I hit my target temp, but the meat didn't cook long enough to become tender.  Second mistake was probably not taking it out of the foil to let it "rest" at room temp and cool down a bit.  I started slicing immediately because the meat was so juicy, but right afterwards, it just got tight and unflavorful.
3. Does 190 seem like a good target temp?  Higher?  Lower? 
4. Is there another way to tell if the meat is done besides a target temperature?  Feel, etc. Do I go by the 'ol "temp probe goes in like butta" mantra?  I'm hoping to get the meat almost fork tender

Not trying to hijack WRX's thread, but since he and I are basically in the same boat, I didn't see the point of starting a whole new thread to ask similar questions.  

Thanks in advance!

lousubcap

@R3K-I would read this post from top to bottom and then you may find a few answers to your questions.  After that then we can address those left "orphaned" and in need of refinement.  BTW-the forum consensus for a flat is the "How I do it" Travis style cook-search that and you should be "good to go".  FWIW-